Chapter 11

Hey! What is up, guys? I'm here with another chapter. Now, thanks to every one who reviews. It really encourages me to write. And the views? Wow! its almost over maybe 750! that's crazy! Anyhoot, thanks for all the support you've been giving and, by all means, enjoy!

Over the past few hours, he tripped and fell over numerous obstacles, the Endermen stood near him and occasionally he would hear a soft chuckled as he landed flat on the ground. He was getting tired of this, constantly tripping and falling. How could he improve if he couldn't see? It was making him angry, and he was about to shout at the Endermen when the green eyes came too close to his face, making him hiss at the sudden light in the vast darkness.

'Do not get angry over something like this. It takes practice to master a skill you have never truly practiced before. Even if you were once a miner.' The Endermen could tell that the human knew he was right. A skill like this does not come easily and certainly not within a time span of four hours. 'I will give you a hint, if you wish.' All the mob got was silence. 'Tap your foot on the ground, and listen.' Steve was hesitant to do as the Endermen told, but he reluctantly tapped his foot on the ground and listened intently. He heard his foot echo against stone, and even heard a faint echo bounce back. He tried over and over again, moving forward very slowly. Soon, he began to grow used to the noise his feet made and the echoes that bounced back. He tapped his foot down again, and tried to determine where the echo was coming from ,estimating that a little ways in front of him, a single stone jutted out from the wall. He moved forward slowly, taking his time as he took small steps until his foot tapped something. He placed his hands in front of him and felt a familiar texture, one he felt quite often when down in the mines. The stone. He smiled. He was close, and getting closer with all the practice the Endermen was making him do. For some reason, the mob kept helping him, and even saving him, for reasons he couldn't think of.

'You are improving, even if it is ever so slightly.' The mob commented. The tall black creature was impressed at how much the human was improving, especially in a time span of a few hours. He could tell the human's eye sight was next to useless in the vast darkness, but was very slowly improving and over time he just might be able to see a few vague shapes in the darkness. However, that was not a strong possibility, considering the men that wanted him dead.

"Do you have a name?"

The sudden voice in the soundless caves made the mob jump slightly in surprise. He was shocked to hear the human speak after so much time being silent and in reality, it shocked him. He heard another thump as the human hit something and fell over, which made the creature chuckle a little.

'A name?' The mob asked, slight caution creeping onto his face as he slightly narrowed his eyes. However, he realized the black fog start seeping from his green-obsidian skin, and tried to contain the toxic fumes as much as possible.

"Yeah. I've got to call you something-" He suddenly coughed, cutting himself off and making the mobs cautious face turn to one of worry as he looked at the human in concern, the black fog dispersed instantly. Steve was hunched over, one hand over his mouth and the other over his chest as he coughed for a few good moments. Gradually, he stopped coughing and turned to face the brilliant green eyes. The mob hesitated for a second before answering. He knew the black fog was going to become a problem, not only for the human, but for himself as well. Another rough cough removed him from his thoughts as he looked down at the human.

'Anything wrong?' He asked, getting a little agitated. Steve shook his head, having a slow chuckle as he continued practicing. They were draped in silence once again for the sole exception of feet taping on the ground and the echoes that came back.

"What colour is your skin?"

'Pardon me?' He raised a single eye brow, eying the human with suspicion. He noticed the human grow a little uncomfortable, as if he'd done something wrong.

"I was curious about your skin colour. That's...that's all." He said, slightly stammering when he noticed the Endermen's glance from the corner of his eye. The creature was surprised, he never meant to cause discomfort in the human, and two simple words seemed to have done it. Oh, well. He wasn't used to the altering behaviors of the human race. Some were just as bad as the mobs that lurked in the night, and others were more like Steve, although the mob was unsure how to describe his human friend.

'I don't actually have skin as I am covered with hard obsidian scales. And to answer your question, my scales are a slight greenish hue.' The mob noticed the humans surprise when he stopped tapping his foot on the ground.

"Greenscale..." He whispered to himself, even though a simple whisper could be loud enough to be considered as a slight raise of voice in the soundless caves. The mob tilted his head, indicating confusion. "That's what I'm going to call you, if you don't mind. Greenscale. I find it suits you very well." The Endermen chuckled. Honestly, he like the name the human had given him. It was original. He watched for a while as Steve directed himself through a portion of the cave without bumping into any obstacles.

'Come, Steve. You seem to have gotten the hang of directing yourself in darkness. It is time to try something different. I want to see how well you'll handle yourself in a fight where you cannot see your opponent. I want to see you fight in complete darkness.'

After she had heard the message from, well, she wasn't sure who, she grabbed a few things, which included her enchanted iron-obsidian sword Gideon, and went to the castle gates. She had been careful to take all the backstreets and abandoned roads to avoid being seen by the citizens as she made her way to the last place she had seen and left the beautiful stallion. She smiled once she heard the neighing of the horse and as calmly as she could, she approached him. His ears went back against his head and she stopped, raising her hands slowly after letting the bags drop onto the floor. She backed up a little, wanting to make sure that the animal didn't feel threatened, and after he sniffed around her bags, he let her come slowly closer.

"Hey, there." She cooed, gently rubbing his muzzle as she gave him an apple and two carrots. After he munched on his snacks, she picked up her bags and made her way onto his back. His nice caramel coat gleamed under the light of the moon as he let her climb on. She patted his neck in appreciation as she whispered in his ears. "Shall we do another ride?"

He snorted in agreement and tossed his head, neighing as he lifted his two front legs off the ground, which nearly made Solana tumble off his back, before running at an even pace towards the dense forest. Solana was scared that she'd fall off as the horse made graceful movements and small jumps to avoid tree branches and small rocks, but was smiling in no time as she felt the wind brush wildly through her hair and tickled her skin. She even broke into laughter as the caramel stallion made an incredible jump over a small lake, his hooves splashing water into her face as he landed. The stallion neighed happily as he shook his mane, breaking into a sprint as night began to fall.

She had closed her eyes as he did this, clutching his neck for dear life but laughing at the strange sensation that appeared in her chest. She never wanted to get off. She never wanted this to end. She grew fond of the stallion that had appeared in the clearing that night, which was yesterday. He was the most amazing thing she ever had, but then again, the voice had offered it to her in order to reach the things she desired the most, and she wanted answers.

The voice had said that the answers to her questions lay in a small shack beyond a little village, but she had no idea where that was as the voice had not been specific. The stallion, however, seemed to know as he kept galloping at full speed, often neighing and shaking his mane as he jumped over streams and obstacles, making her laugh for most of the journey. Then, he started to slow his gallop until he came to a trot, then he even slowed that to a walk. She looked up from where her face had been buried in his neck and saw why he had slowed his pace.

In front of them, a few people were blocking their path. By a few, she meant two, one boy and one girl. They looked heavily armed, each having a polished sword firmly clasped in one hand, and the other hand held a bag that was slung over their shoulders. Their clothing appeared to be thick enough to act as armor and their faces were hidden by the hoods that hung low on their faces. The insignia on their clothing gave them away as assassins for one of the several kingdoms. Which kingdom they belonged to, she couldn't tell. The caramel stallion neighed nervously, pawing the ground and shaking his head back and forth, as if trying to intimidate them.

"May I know who ventures out in the darkness by their lonesome?" One of the two asked, extending a hand to indicate he was talking to her, a polite tone in his voice also indicated he meant no harm. She started to get off her caramel mount, but he fidgeted so much she was scared he might accidentally step on her or run away. So she stayed put and tried to deal with it.

"I am known as Princess Solana, daughter of the king of the Third Order Royalty, King Lancelot. I demand you let me pass." The two looked at each other, a silent message passed between them. The both shook their heads.

"I am sorry, Ma'am. We cannot allow you to pass by the orders of his Majesty King Lancelot." The figure to her left, a male, spoke. His voice gave off a certain ring she didn't like and it seemed like the stallion had came up with the same reaction. She started to panic and as soon as the two started to come closer, she tensed up and the horse neighed, raising his front legs off the ground and tried to hit the assassins.

"Please, Ma'am!" The other, a female said, reaching a hand behind her thick clothing and using the other to cover her face as she dodged the horses hooves. "Get your mount under control! We only wish to escort you back home!" As soon as they were close enough, the stallion saw a gap and jumped right over them, breaking into a sprint as soon as his hooves hit solid ground. The only thing she heard other than the wind in her ears and the numerous Thuds! of hooves on solid ground was the angry shout of the assassins as the caramel stallion put a lot of distance between them, as the two figures disappeared out of view in a matter of seconds.

A little while later, the stallion started slowing his pace again and she grew concerned. He had been running for a while, almost half the night as she watched the moon lazily travel down across the sky. Soon he came to a halt and she slipped off his back as he started grazing. She looked around, not recognizing the area. Where was she? The stallion couldn't of messed up in his direction, could he? She looked around, noticing a gravel path. Confused, she decided to follow it. It took a little more than five minutes, but eventually she found herself standing at the edge of a small clearing.

Solana had a little trouble keeping her jaw closed as she stared at the sight before her. It was amazing. There was a house, a decent sized animal farm, a sugar cane farm, a wheat farm and even more. This place had almost everything. She smiled a little as she looked around, not able to contain her curiosity about this amazing place. What drew her in the most about this place was the house. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Being built with various materials which included stone bricks, birch wood, and even spruce.

"Wow." She breathed. She was about to open the door and take a look inside when a snort behind her made her jump back. She looked behind her to find the caramel stallion to be staring at her, his tail gently swung behind him. Then he turned and walked towards the furthest path to the left. She looked at him questionably, debating internally whether or not to follow him.

Follow him. He will show you something.

Well, her decision was made for her and she jogged after the caramel steed, soon catching up to him. He snorted a little as he went along the path, which soon led them to a dead end. A bunch of vines growing on what seemed to be a very dark tree trunk, the stallion eying them intently. As she looked closer, not willing to accept a dead end as an answer, she found that the vines were moving and a small air current could be felt through the vines. Carefully, she used Gideon to move the vines out of the way and sure enough, she found a small clearing with a single stone in the center of it. A few letters were sketched on it but she was too far to read what it said. The stallion pushed past her and through the curtain of vines, snorting gently as a few rubbed his nose. She huffed and walked in after him, taking a small peak behind her in worry that the assassins had caught up to them, but she saw no one. She sighed and closed the curtain of vines behind her, taking out a torch to banish some of the darkness as the moon now looked her in the face, almost setting. The horse nuzzled the stone and she looked at it, curious.

She notice it was a Standing Stone, a single name stretched across its surface as well as a small necklace with a small transparent jewel that was placed on the dirt in front of the stone. She took the necklace and jumped as the jewel popped open, revealing a picture with two figures. Small letters were etched on the top, forming the sentence : Steve and Casroth, brothers forever. Her eyes widened. No way. She looked at the grave, not wanting it to be true. Indeed it was. Reading the name out loud, she fought the tears that threatened to obscure her vision. She felt something soft nuzzle her shoulder and she turned, wrapping her arms around the stallions neck, still not wanting to cry.

Casroth.

"Oh, Cas...My poor Cas." She looked at the jewel again, seeing how happy he was and a sudden realization struck her. Wait. Steve and Casroth, brothers forever. That house. That beautiful house was Steve's house. But where was he? She hugged the horse tightly for a few more moments until the horse pulled away, moving out of the small clearing. He neighed impatiently as he started jumping around, heading back down the path they had come from. She followed, not wanting to lose the only companion she had. Soon, however, she broke into a run as the horses neighs became louder, bursting into the clearing where the house was located.

Up on the roof, being illuminated by the fading moon, was a single figure. He wore a cyan blue shirt and dark blue jeans as well as a diamond sword strapped to his back. His dark brown hair flowed gently as the wind whispered around them. Solana looked at the picture in the jewel, then back at the man. It looked like him, but wasn't his hair a little dark? She couldn't keep staring anymore and she took a step forward, a little hesitant as his head snapped towards her, making the stallion neigh and paw the ground, ears laid flat on his head. She tried not to look terrified, but the white eyes were making it hard for her to stop shaking. However, it didn't stop her from asking.

"Steve?"

Wow. I found that amazing. I'm looking forward to all your comments/reviews! Can't wait to see what you think! :P

Oh, for Watcher321, you were pretty close with your guess on the last chapter. I love reading your reviews. Hehehe. :)

-NilakantaDragonQueen619 See ya'll later!